Walker Ecstatic; Murkowski Okay; Sullivan Not At All

Alaska politicians are weighing in Thursday on the Supreme Court’s 6-3 decision to uphold federal subsidies for the Affordable Care Act — a ruling which promises to have significant effects on the Last Frontier. They sided with the Obama administration’s arguments that a ruling for the law’s challengers would cut off health-care subsidies to 6.4 million Americans, also requiring Alaska and 33 other states relying on a federal health-care exchange to form their own such exchanges.

“We are pleased so many of our friends, family and neighbors will be able to continue to receive health care,” Walker said. “Now it’s important that we continue to work toward Medicaid expansion, so more Alaskans can receive the health coverage they need.”

“Nationally, only 11 percent of Americans see this law as succeeding; in Alaska, we continue to see the promise of affordable care move further and further away as our costs skyrocket,” Murkowski said. “I stand ready to work with anyone on either side of the aisle to deliver true health care reform that cuts costs, increases the availability of care, doesn’t hurt small businesses or their employees, and best serves a high-risk, high-cost state like Alaska.”

“In short, ObamaCare, or as Supreme Court Justice Scalia called it, ‘Scotuscare,’ has been a disaster for Alaska,” Sullivan said. “Therefore, I am extremely disappointed with the Supreme Court’s decision. I, and my colleagues in the Senate, remain committed to repealing this disastrous law and replacing it with patient-centered reforms.”